Leganza was styled by the famous Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign. It is believed that this design was inspired by Giugiaro's 1990 Jaguar Kensington concept car, a pedigree Leganza's body shares with the 1991 Toyota Aristo. In case of Leganza, however, Giugiaro had to deal with a shorter vehicle with front-wheel rather than rear-wheel drive, which, combined with Daewoo's styling cues like the large chrome grille, resulted in a very peculiar appearance.
With a body styled by the famous Italdesign Giugiaro firm, the Aristo was launched in October 1991, offering two inline-6 powered versions for the Japanese market: the 3.0Q, chassis code JZS147, and R6 3.0, codename JZS160. The 3.0Q Aristo featured a 2JZ-GE engine which produced 226 hp (169 kW). The R6 3.0 Aristo was equipped with a 24-valve twin-turbo 2JZ-GTE engine which produced 276 hp (205 kW). This twin-turbo engine was the same as could be found in the Toyota Supra Mk IV. In 1992, a third model, the V8-powered 4.0Zi-Four (codename UZS143), joined the Aristo lineup. This model came with standard four-wheel drive and a 250 hp (173 kW) 1UZ-FE engine. This V8 had also been used in the first generation Lexus LS and the Toyota Crown Majesta. The Aristo/GS models were equipped with an independent, double-wishbone suspension setup.[1] The only engine available for the export markets was the 2JZ-GE inline-6.
